On September 2, 1963, Bruce McLaren officially incorporated Bruce McLaren Motor Racing, starting with a handful of dedicated employees working from a small facility in New Malden, Surrey, England. From these humble beginnings, not even McLaren himself could have predicted the company’s long-term success as a race car constructor, supercar manufacturer and Formula 1 team. Next March, the 2014 Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance will celebrate this impressive achievement by recognizing the 50th anniversary of McLaren.

McLaren’s first foray into Formula 1 was at the 1966 Monaco Grand Prix, where Bruce McLaren put his Ford-powered car on the grid in 10th position. He’d complete just nine laps before retiring with an oil leak, but by the late-season U.S. Grand Prix, the team was performing well enough for a fifth place finish. In the years since, McLaren has racked up an impressive 182 Formula 1 wins, more than any other team currently racing in the series second only to the 221 wins amassed by Scuderia Ferrari.

McLaren’s dominance of the Canadian American Challenge (Can-Am) series is the stuff of legend, with the team earning 43 wins and five driver’s championships from 1967-1972. As if these racing accolades weren’t impressive enough, McLaren cars have also won the Indianapolis 500 a total of three times (1972, 1974 and 1976), as well as winning the 24 hours of LeMans on its first attempt in 1995. Since 1993, the company’s road car division, McLaren Automotive, has built some of the most desirable supercars on the planet.

Sadly, Bruce McLaren would die in a Can-Am chassis testing accident in June of 1970, just as his namesake company was beginning to reach its potential as a constructor. Today, the firm occupies a state-of-the-art campus in Woking, Surrey, England, and employs an estimated 2,000 people across all its divisions.

The 2014 Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance will take place from March 7-9, and will feature driver Jochen Maas Mass as its honoree and the American Underslung automobile as a featured marque. For more information, visit AmeliaConcours.org.

UPDATE 11/1/2-14: Planned McLaren cars on display will include the Cosworth-powered M23 that Jochen Mass drove to a podium finish in the 1977 Swedish Grand Prix , as well as the 1972 Indianapolis-winning McLaren driven by Mark Donohue.